Washington, D.C. — Jake Faleschini, director of the Federal Courts Program at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Neomi Rao’s nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit:

Neomi Rao is an ideological extremist who does not belong on any federal court, let alone the second-most powerful court in the country. She has shown a disturbing bias against victims of sexual assault and has a lengthy history of disparaging women’s rights. She has also made a series of stunningly insensitive remarks about race and expressed open hostility to LGBTQ rights. Rao has even written multiple articles in support of the cruel and demeaning practice of ‘dwarf tossing.’ In the Trump administration, Rao made it her mission to slash vital public protections at every opportunity. She is part of a growing right-wing push for judges to second-guess the policy decisions of federal agencies that protect clean air, consumer safety, and other critical areas. A nominee with such radical views and open biases is unfit to serve on the federal bench and should be rejected by the Senate.